We arrived at the pier at about 11:15 in the usual NYC madness of everyone going everywhere. We tossed all the luggage to the curb fast enough to satisfy even the Port Security munchkins, tipped/bribed the porters to load the bags on the ship instead of in the River, then headed inside the terminal. I’ve always admired the way RCI handles crowds but NCL matched them with an absolutely seamless embarkation and were on board within 25 minutes. Really well done.

Having done some research, we knew better than to head up to the stockyard known as “the buffet” on Day 1, so off we went in search of the Magenta Dining Room. We were served the first of what would be terrific meals all week by our new favorite waiter, Rodell. On the downside, it would be the only time we got out of any MDR in less than 2.25 hours. More on that later.

After lunch we did our usual aimless wandering, exploring the GEM with particular attention to the “mission critical” areas (shops, the casino and various bar locations) This initial stumbling about finished just in time for the cabins to be ready and off we went to inspect quarters.